Prestigious Grants Will Advance Key Research

December 22, 2015

Researchers from the John Wayne Cancer Institute were the recipients of two out of four coveted research grants at the Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation’s eighth International Symposium on the Breast earlier this year. Peter A. Sieling, PhD, professor of immunology and assistant director of translational immunology at the Institute, and his team will collaborate with Johns Hopkins University to study the effects of an immune stimulator, flagellin, on breast cancer survival and immune responses. The results could translate to improved, minimally invasive breast cancer treatments for many patients. The pilot grant is funded by Atossa Genetics.

Sabina Adhikary, PhD, research associate at the Institute’s laboratory of translational immunology, received the second grant, funded by the Susan G. Komen breast cancer organization. Dr. Adhikary and her team will work with researchers at the Mayo Clinic to explore the innate and adaptive immunity in breast cancer. This study could lead to the identification of new predictive markers for breast cancer risk and opportunities for prevention.

Dave S.B. Hoon was recently awarded a grant from the Dr. Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson Medical Research Foundation that will focus on epigenetic markers in the development of melanoma and the response to medication. The grant totals $1.4 million over two years.

The Institute has also received two grants from the Avon Foundation. Dr. Hoon and Diego Marzese, PhD, will investigate novel therapies for metastatic breast cancer with a two-year, $150,000 grant.

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John Wayne Cancer Institute at Saint John’s Health Center is a cancer research institute dedicated to the understanding and curing of cancer in order to eliminate patient suffering worldwide. Our mission is accomplished through innovative clinical and laboratory research and the education of the next generation of surgical oncologists and scientists.

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